My DreamAnonymous

What is your dream?

When I was 12, I found a book on global poverty at the local bookstore. For weeks my grandpa and I sat at a coffee table and read the analysis of foreign aid. I stayed up past bedtime, hiding under the covers, leafing through the debate about economic assistance to nations. My parents always instilled the idea that the only way to live your life is to help others, and this book kept me thinking about the lack of substantial help to those in poverty. The book explains failure is probable for nations in poverty because society expects them to fail. How could I make sure we expect people to succeed instead?

I came back to this idea while I was creating budget proposals for Youth and Government’s Department of Finance. I had been tasked to reform K-12 education, and I saw I could create significant social change by using economic policy. It was such a powerful notion that I could use money, which is sometimes considered greedy and evil, and turn it into a driving force for good.

A few months later, in AP World History, I discovered the International Monetary Fund, and they became my dream. I want to work at the IMF to provide support and guidance around the world. I am ecstatic to set countries on a path to create a sustainable...